California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said California school districts should not expect a common start date for Fall 2020, but the green light to determine the best start date from themselves.
Thurmond made the remark on Wednesday during a virtual news conference, a day before another scheduled digital meeting that will “bring 1,000 districts together to discuss safely reopening schools,” his office said.
The California Department of Education will trust local school districts to produce their own plans and start dates for fall since they say it would be difficult to come up with a single strategy that would satisfy each school district in the entire state.
Superintendent Thurmond said most schools in California are planning to start on their normal dates. Meanwhile, San Diego Unified School District has said it plans to bring class back into session on Sept. 1. However, in order for that date to work, the district said it would need extra funds.
Details on guidelines for social distancing once the fall quarter/semester begins will be discussed during Thursday’s virtual meeting. Thurmond mentioned that facial coverings will be mandated, campuses will be required to be sanitized daily and smaller class sizes will be held to keep students a safe distance from one another.
As of now, there will be no state mandate on how much in-person learning and distance learning will be required, but some districts may have to balance the two, according to Thurmond.
